


you were the song stuck in my head

by dj jiggle juice (therestisconfetti)



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, it's happy!!!, long-time pining, slight angst? not really idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 18:47:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13981146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therestisconfetti/pseuds/dj%20jiggle%20juice
Summary: Beca doesn’t know these feelings, but she isn’t quite sure this is how you’re supposed to feel when it comes to a friend.or: Beca falls in love and takes too long to realize it; Chloe is always there.





	you were the song stuck in my head

**Author's Note:**

> hello there! i'm back. this basically follows beca throughout the pp series. once again, reach me on tumblr at backtobasicbellas if you wanna chat!

It’s nearly ten at night and instead of chugging a red bull and sitting in front of her equipment to finish a mix she’s been working on, Beca is sitting on her bed next to Chloe Beale.

Kimmy Jin is nowhere to be found - Beca guesses she’s playing video games with her friends or something - and after one of Chloe’s puppy pouts, she’s playing her last finished mixed through her sound system she hardly uses because Kimmy Jin _hates_ when she plays her music.

Beca thinks she should be working on her mix, or her homework, or starting a mix for the ICCAs that Aubrey had asked her to sample, but instead Chloe is perched next to her and nodding her head along to the mix Beca’s playing.

“This one’s better than the last one,” Chloe tells her with a grin.

Beca shakes her head. “You say that every time I show you a new one.”

She’s not used to sharing her mixes with people, let alone sharing one every time she makes a new one, but something about Chloe and that puppy dog pout has her giving in every single time.

She doesn’t do well with compliments either, but Chloe seems honest and genuine.

“Because it’s true,” Chloe stresses, then adds, “you know, we could use part of this for the ICCAs.”

Beca nods half heartedly, leaning over to turn the volume down on her equipment as the mix begins to fade out.

“We could,” she agrees with a hum.

They sit in silence for a moment, Beca re-arranging herself on the bed after messing with her equipment and Chloe replying to a few texts on her phone.

Beca clears her throat, calling Chloe’s attention back to her. “Uh,” she begins. “Thanks for texting me about practice.”

She had figured she’d never see the Bellas again. Well, she’d see them on campus maybe, but Chloe’s a senior and the chances or her running into the redhead are pretty slim. So when her phone had buzzed in the middle of a shift at the station, she was surprised to see that it was Chloe, and even more surprised that she was being invited back to practice.

Chloe’s easy smile appears on her face. “Of course,” she replies. “You never really quit, anyway.”

The brunette shakes her head, almost laughing at how idiotic she had been after their regional performance. “I caused such a scene,” she admits, leaning her back against the wall behind her. “And I was a total dick to you.”

Making friends has never come easy to Beca. She’s always been on her own, and for awhile, she liked it that way. Then Chloe Beale had come barging in with no regard for personal space and an immediate persistence to understand and get to know Beca.

Chloe’s the one who encouraged her at auditions when everyone else just openly stared (and Aubrey glared). It was Chloe who helped her with choreography, long after everyone else had nailed it. It was Chloe who told her that her voice is more than just good and wanted her to solo. Chloe’s the one who stayed after the Bellas left the night she’d gotten home from her short trip to prison, listening to her mixes and giving positive feedback on each one Beca showed her.

She thinks she’s found a friend in Chloe, and remembering the way Chloe’s face fell after Beca had snapped at her after that regional performance makes her stomach hurt.

Chloe’s been nothing but nice to her, and Beca had let her down.

There is no possible way Beca deserves to have Chloe as a friend.

“You were heated and so was Aubrey,” Chloe reasons with a shrug. “You guys both said things you didn’t mean. I get it.”

“I’m still sorry,” Beca mumbles, picking at the lint at the bottom of her shirt.

Chloe nudges her knee against Beca’s, forcing her to meet bright blue eyes. “Is Beca Mitchell showing real emotions?”

There’s a slight smirk on Chloe’s lips and a playful look in her eyes, and Beca resists the urge to smile at her. Chloe makes her feel things that she hasn’t really felt before, and though Beca doesn’t understand it, she doesn’t really question it.

Jesse and their fight seem so far away.

Chloe is right here, right now.

“Shut up nerd,” she deadpans with a slight shove to Chloe’s shoulder.

Chloe laughs and Beca thinks it’s almost as melodic as when she hears Chloe sing. And not the singing she does on stage - but that’s really good too - but the singing Beca catches at rehearsals, when she’s got a song stuck in her head and she’s humming it under her breath. The way she sings when they’re in Beca’s dorm and Chloe’s listening to music as she does her homework.

Her laugh cracks a smile out of Beca, and the brunette just rolls her eyes at the way Chloe’s face lights up at her smile.

Chloe’s laughter subsides and she look at Beca for a long moment. Beca thinks she should say something, but her words are caught in her throat and _why_ are Chloe’s eyes so blue and bright and so intently looking at her?

“Thanks for coming back.”

It’s in a gentle tone that Beca doesn’t hear too often from the redhead. It’s raw and honest, stirring emotions up inside of Beca. She feels it in her gut and she can’t quite pinpoint an exact feeling or word to the happenings inside of her.

She swallows the lump she didn’t know she had in her throat, trying very hard not to break eye contact with the pretty girl who had stuck by her side this whole time, even if Beca never asked her to.

“Thanks for giving me a chance,” she replies.

Beca doesn’t know these feelings, but she isn’t quite sure this is how you’re supposed to feel when it comes to a friend.

 

* * *

 

They really have their own house just for the Bellas.

It comes along after they win their second consecutive ICCA title and Chloe’s rushing into her, Stacie, and Beca’s apartment just down the street from school to inform them that some sorority just got kicked off campus and their house is up for grabs.

Beca doesn’t get what she’s saying.

Stacie immediately picks up on it.

“And you want all of us to live together?” Beca had clarified as Stacie and Chloe’s eyes grow wide with excitement. She cringes. “That sounds like a disaster.”

“But it’ll be so _fun._ ”

Chloe’s giving her that damn puppy pout, and when it’s paired with Stacie’s persistence and uncanny ability to make Beca extremely uncomfortable at any given moment, she caves.

Chloe doesn’t graduate again.

Beca doesn’t say anything about it.

(She doesn’t even admit to herself there’s a sense of relief that Chloe isn’t leaving yet.)

So Beca stays at Barden over the summer, working shifts at the radio station like she owns the place - because, really, she runs the show now with Luke gone - and Chloe comes back almost two weeks early, practically bouncing up and down as Beca picks her up at the airport.

And she can’t say she didn’t miss Chloe over the summer; having a constant ray of sunshine in her life is something she doesn’t know she’d ever miss.

Texts and phone calls and snapchats and FaceTime were all great, but nothing beats the way Chloe scoops her up in her arms after dropping her luggage as Beca breathes out, “Welcome back, Chlo” and Chloe peppers the top of her head with kisses.

Beca grumbles and says she hates it.

(She doesn’t really, though.)

She takes in the way Chloe looks sunkissed and beautiful, hair lighter from the time she’s spent outdoors in the last two months. Beca can’t stop the grin from taking over her face when Chloe beams at her and tells it’s good to be back.

They spend a whole day at Ikea, debating on which furniture to buy and whether or not they should put it all together themselves or hire people to do it for them, and by people, Beca means the Trebles that are in town and she misses the way Chloe’s eyes dull a little at the mention that Jesse should be back in two days.

Chloe drags her through the store, asking what color schemes they should go with and who should get what room. Beca claims she doesn’t care, as long as she has a desk to put all her equipment on and work when she needs to.

She hates shopping for stupid things like kitchen appliances and lamps and tables, but Chloe’s laughing and singing and talking about how _aca-amazing_ it is that they finally get their own place like the Trebles do, and Beca finds herself laughing and talking and falling into it all too easily.

Chloe’s her best friend and partner in crime. After Aubrey graduated, they practically became inseparable. Between captaining the Bellas together to just enjoying each other’s company, Beca finds it hard to remember what her life was like without Chloe around.

She doesn’t really want to find out.

They finally make it out of Ikea with too many things and boxes on Chloe’s lap as Beca drives them to the Bella house - _their_ new home. Chloe sings along to Beca’s mix - one that she’d made over the summer and sent to Chloe - and pokes at Beca until she sings along and it’s like she’s in the shower all over again with the way their harmonies fall together like it’s second nature.

Chloe’s grinning at her when the song ends, and Beca turns to face her at a red light.

“What?” Beca asks, suddenly feeling self conscious.

“It’s nothing,” Chloe insists, lips turning into a soft smile. “I’ve just missed you, that’s all.”

Beca feels her cheeks heat up and she quickly turns her attention back on the road, easing her foot onto the gas pedal when she realizes the light’s green.

She still doesn’t understand that weird feeling she gets when Chloe looks at her like _that._ Like, well, Beca doesn’t quite know like what.

“Stop being a sap,” she tells Chloe, eyes still on the road and leg bouncing slightly.

Chloe leans back in her seat, head nodding along to the next mix that comes on when she says, “I’m glad I got to come back early and hang out with you.”

The feeling in Beca’s gut grows, something about the way Chloe says things that Beca is too afraid to admit, especially when it comes to Chloe Beale.

(Why doesn’t Jesse make her feel like this? Is it because they’ve been together for a little over a year now?

Something deep down tells her that she should be concerned that she doesn’t even care that Jesse’s coming back soon. That the only thing she cares about is sitting in her passenger’s seat humming along to one of her mixes.)

“I’m glad to have you back too,” Beca admits quietly.

She misses the way Chloe’s eyes light up before she belts the chorus of the song.

 

* * *

 

Beca is exhausted.

Between class, her internship, and the three hour Bella rehearsal Chloe - and a rather eager Emily - insists they need to nail half of their Worlds choreography, she’s surprised she hasn’t collapsed from exhaustion or exploded from her ridiculous caffeine intake for the day.

In her sleep shorts and a t-shirt she’s pretty sure she’s stolen from Chloe’s closet, Beca pushes the door open and drags her feet along the carpet until she can collapse on the bed front first. She’s so tired she barely has the energy to crawl under the covers, but her head hits the pillow and her eyes immediately flutter closed.

“So no Netflix tonight?””

Beca hears the voice but makes no movement, letting out something that sounds like a mix between a grunt and a tired hum instead. She feels the bed dip and and suddenly there’s someone else underneath the covers with her.

She smells fruity shampoo and vanilla lotion and moves herself closer to the scent, not at all surprised at the way fingers begin to run circles on her back.

“I can’t open my eyes,” Beca murmurs.

“Don’t be silly.”

Beca doesn’t have to open her eyes to see the smile there, but she does so anyway. She’s greeted by a freshly showered Chloe Beale smiling down at her. They’re in Chloe’s bed, tucked under the covers and Beca knows she has her own bed waiting for her up in the attic with Amy, but Chloe’s bed is bigger and more comfortable.

Plus, Amy snores. Chloe doesn’t.

(And maybe Beca likes the way she traces circles on her back.)

“Chlo rehearsals killed me,” she whines. “My limbs are going to fall off.”

Chloe rolls her eyes. “You know, for someone who used to revel in being a broody musician, you’re really dramatic.”

Beca snorts, playfully pushing Chloe’s shoulder. “Shut up.”

“You think the girls have the choreo nailed after tonight?” Chloe asks, still tracing circles up and down Beca’s back in slow motions.

“Chloe,” Beca laughs, eyes only half open. “We just spent _three hours_ on just choreo. I think we have that part down.”

Chloe lets out a soft sigh, still tracing circles on Beca’s back. “I know. I just want to make sure. Worlds is our-”

“-last chance,” the smaller one finishes, eyes fully open and on Chloe now. She notices the way Chloe’s brows are slightly knitted and she’s got a half pout on her lips. “I know. We all know that, Chlo. We’re going to be fine, no matter what.”

Chloe doesn’t meet Beca’s eyes. Beca taps her forehead lightly to bring Chloe’s attention back.

“I mean it,” she tells her seriously. “We’re going to kick DSM’s ass.”

Chloe looks at her and although Beca can still see the slight hint of worry in her face, she relaxes into a small smile. Beca smiles back at her, still inhaling Chloe’s fresh-out-of-the-shower scent she knows so well.

The redhead continues to trace circles up and down Beca’s back and Beca tries to keep her eyes open - she really does - but they flutter closed because Chloe’s touch is so light and soothing. Somewhere between first moving into the Bella house to now, sharing a bed has become something more habitual between the two. There’s another level of their friendship that Beca knows is different from all the other Bellas, something more with Chloe.

It’s always been more with Chloe.

And Beca thinks it’s stupid that she tried to hide her internship from Chloe all along because all the time she spent hiding it was also time spent in her own bed. Those nights were much harder to sleep through.

(Beca will say it’s because Amy snores.

It has nothing to do with the way Chloe rubs her back and ends up with her arms around Beca by the time they wake up.)

“I’m gonna miss all of this,” Chloe sighs, and Beca can sense the tiredness in her voice.

“All of what?” Beca mumbles, her head almost resting against Chloe’s shoulder as tries to stay awake.

“Bella rehearsals, this house, living with nine girls…”

There’s something Beca thinks Chloe wants to add, but nothing more comes. She hums in agreement, unable to come up with a good enough response as sleep continues to call her.

“It’s all going to be different in a few weeks,” Chloe tells her. “Things are gonna change.”

“Not everything will change,” Beca tells her, breathing beginning to slow as Chloe’s fingers drag up and down her back slowly. “I won’t change.”

And Beca hopes even though they’re both tired from a long day and half asleep, Chloe knows that she means it. She hopes Chloe understands that no matter what happens after graduation or after Worlds they’ll still be Beca and Chloe like they always have been. Being away from Barden won’t change that.

She’s never been good at words, and Chloe knows this so she hopes that she just _gets_ it like she always has been able to understand Beca.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Beca confirms. “I won’t.”

“Good,” Chloe murmurs, her fingers pulling away from the back of Beca’s t-shirt.

Beca misses the contact, but Chloe’s arm slings around her waist and she feels at peace again.

(Jesse is all the way in Los Angeles and Beca doesn’t even think of him.

She thinks of strawberry and vanilla and the promises she knows she’ll do anything to keep.)

“G’night Becs.”

“G’night Chlo.”

Chloe presses the softest of kisses to Beca’s forehead before falling asleep makes Beca.

Beca thinks she knows this feeling, but she can’t quite describe it.

She just knows that Chloe always makes her feel things she doesn’t understand.

 

* * *

 

Beca doesn’t know how she feels about New York.

It’s cold, people are mean, it’s better to walk everywhere because traffic sucks all the time, and really she kind of grew to like Atlanta and the suburbia that was Barden University.

Maybe spending four years at Barden has made Beca softer than she used to be.

Or maybe it’s Chloe Beale.

Chloe.

Beca knows even if she’s not sold on the city or if she has a hard day at work where her new boss somehow doesn’t trust her even though she has high praises from a man who literally has Grammys on Grammys, she has Chloe.

Chloe, who moved with her from Atlanta to New York when she got the job for BFD.

Chloe, who still does cardio and sings when she’s not speaking, and suddenly decides she wants to be a veterinarian.

Beca visits Chloe at the vet clinic she works at when she can find a free moment away from the record company and making sure Amy doesn’t burn their apartment to pieces.

On her off days, Chloe occasionally drops off lunch for Beca at the studio because she knows Beca forgets to eat when she’s busy or when she’s just so into the music she’s working on.

(She and Jesse never used to do anything remotely close to this.

Breaking up hurts, but it hurts a lot less when Chloe’s making her laugh and forcing her to watch movies Beca pretends to hate.)

Beca hates when her alarm goes off in the mornings. She likes getting to be able to do what she loves as work, but she hates the brat kid artists she works with most of the time. They make days harder, especially when they make it difficult for Beca to approve a track she thinks is absolute trash.

But when she opens her eyes, she sees Chloe in the kitchen making breakfast for two - Fat Amy is either not home or still very much asleep in the mornings - and Chloe’s humming to whatever top 40 song she’s got stuck in her head and everything feels right.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Chloe says when Beca grumpily reaches over and shuts her alarm off.

Beca lets out a groan in response, flopping onto her back and staring at the ceiling. Their apartment smells like bacon and eggs and she already knows Chloe is going to make her a cup of coffee once food is ready.

“Get dressed,” her best friend tells her. “Before you start running late.”

It receives an automatic eye roll in response, but Beca obliges as she slowly pulls herself out of bed and drags her feet to the rack of clothes that doubles as a divider between her and Chloe’s bed and Fat Amy’s.

She gets ready to the sound of Chloe singing quietly and the pan sizzling and scraps of kitchen appliances. This is routine for her, getting dressed as Chloe cooks them both breakfast. Sometimes, Beca can’t remember starting her mornings any other way.

She thinks that should scare her.

It doesn’t, though.

She pulls on her ankle boots of the day before she makes her way over to Chloe, who is pushing a plate of eggs and bacon with toast in her direction on the small kitchen table. Just as Beca’s sitting down and reaching for her fork, Chloe’s placing a mug of coffee down for her.

“You are literally the reason I am still alive,” Beca murmurs half-jokingly, immediately picking up the mug and taking a long, satisfying sip.

Chloe laughs, full and vibrant like always and Beca wonders how she has so much energy and happiness every goddamn morning.

(Even after all this time, Beca hates mornings.

She hates them less with Chloe around, though.)

“Can’t have you dying on me now,” she teases.

Chloe sits across from her with orange juice and her own plate of food and they sit and eat in relative silence, with occasional conversation here and there, but it’s a rhythm that’s familiar and comfortable to them after years of living together. The quietness is a little weird when they spent three years with eight other girls, but they’ve found a rhythm these past two years since graduation.

Amy is nowhere to be found and Beca can only guess she’s either been at Bumper’s for the past twelve hours, but she doesn’t mind the mornings she and Chloe spend alone. Chloe’s casual dates have seemingly slowed down a lot lately since their initial move to Brooklyn so it’s the two of them in their apartment and Beca kind of loves it. She likes the steadiness that Chloe’s presence brings; everything is fine when she’s got her best friend by her side.

She’s tossing the last of her things into her bag, with breakfast and her morning coffee in her system and Chloe mulling around before she has to head into the vet clinic for the day. She throw her back over her shoulder, checking her phone to make sure she isn’t late.

“Don’t forget lunch,” Chloe calls, and Beca looks at the container of food that Chloe freakin’ _meal preps_ for them - because, you know, Chloe’s into meal prepping now - and tosses that in her bag too.

“You’re amazing,” Beca tells her seriously. “Okay, I’m off to work. I’ll see you tonight. Let’s get drinks maybe?”

“After this week I’ve had I’m definitely down for a drink,” the taller one says with a sigh. “Have a good day at the studio, Becs! Go make some music!”

Beca grins at her, a real wide grin that would be very uncharacteristic of the old Beca Mitchell. She smiles a lot around Chloe, she realizes, but she can’t help it because Chloe is so effortlessly supportive and genuine in everything she does.

“Thanks Chlo. Go save some animals,” she replies.

Chloe smiles brightly at her as she hands over Beca’s lunch. Beca takes it gratefully and leans over, pecking Chloe’s cheek before opening the door to their impossibly tiny apartment.

“Bye Chlo!”

“Bye Beca,” Chloe calls out over her shoulder, voice a little quieter than usual.

Beca’s halfway down the block when she finally registers what she did.

She kissed Chloe’s cheek.

She never does that. That’s like, what girlfriends do. Or what married people do before they go to work.

And it shouldn’t come as a surprise. The girls often joked about how Beca and Chloe were their parents. Amy teases them about acting so domestic. It used to bother Beca, but now she just rolls her eyes while Chloe laughs at the comments.

But - oh, maybe that’s why Chloe was a little quieter as she walked out the door.

Beca spends the rest of the morning wondering how Chloe’s reacting until she gets a snapchat of Chloe holding an adorable puppy with the caption “best patient of the day! He says hi Beca!” and she relaxes a little.

Her mind is at ease, but not by much. She thinks about Chloe, and about everything they do together, and how she’s Beca’s first good morning and last good night. She thinks about how Chloe will hold her hand while they walk sometimes just because, and how cuddling is like second nature to them at night, and how Chloe’s always peppered her face in kisses throughout the years.

And yeah, Chloe’s her best friend, but Beca thinks there’s something more than that now. There is no Jesse and Chloe isn’t seeing anyone.

She thinks that maybe - possibly - that all those deeper feelings when it comes to Chloe is more than just a best friend type of way.

When she comes home and sees Chloe cooking dinner and smiling at her with a slightly crooked smile, Beca’s suspicions are confirmed.

Oh, she’s totally screwed.

 

* * *

 

Beca never really thought she’d find herself in Europe on a USO Tour singing acapella in competition for - essentially - DJ Khaled’s attention, but then again, her life plans really went off the rails when she joined the Barden Bellas seven years ago.

She doesn’t hate it, though.

She doesn’t hate it because she’s seeing places she never really thought she’d see and in every new city there’s a blue-eyed, redhead woman grinning and forcing her to take pictures or share a meal or buy a dumb souvenir every step of the way.

Chloe’s forcing her into group pictures and selfies, and all though she groans and complains about how they don’t need to take a photo every five minutes, Chloe’s still looking at her with a big smile and somehow Beca finds herself smiling, too.

Beca honestly can’t remember which country they’re in now, but when Chloe drags her out of the hotel on their off day to explore without the rest of the girls, she doesn’t complain much. Chloe holds her hand the whole time, pointing out various things she finds captivating and Beca just nods and laughs and grins because Chloe is so happy and her eyes are so big and blue that Beca is absolutely mesmerized.

Being with all the girls again for longer than just a day or two has been nice, but Beca’s been so used to _just_ Chloe - and Amy, you know, when she actually decides to stay home for more than a few hours at a time - that it’s all a bit overwhelming.

“I still can’t believe we’re here,” Beca admits to her best friend as they wander down streets neither of them can pronounce. “This is crazy.”

Chloe beams at her. “Isn’t it amazing, Becs? We’re all back together and _singing_ in Europe?”

Beca returns her smile, laughing just a little. “It’s really something.”

Was it her brightest idea to go to Europe while she’s currently jobless and unsure of what her next move is?

No, probably not.

But Chloe had looked at her with expectant eyes paired with the stupid puppy pout in that bar in Brooklyn and she was instantly a goner. Really, she’s never had a fighting chance when it comes to Chloe.

So yeah, she’s jobless and kind of really broke and should probably find a new job soon.

But she’s all of those things with _Chloe_ by her side in freakin’ Europe, and that’s not a bad way to live life at all.

There is however a heaviness that is slowly starting to set in Beca because she knows Chloe’s applied to vet school. She knows the chances of Chloe staying in New York City are pretty slim. There’s a strong possibility that Chloe will be far away from her and Beca will have to figure out life without sunshine and rainbows and morning coffee waiting for her.

The thought leaves a bitter feeling in her stomach.

“Becs, flowers!” Chloe practically squeals, grabbing Beca’s hand before dashing towards the small little outdoor flower shop a few yards away.

“Ow Chlo!” Beca grunts, scowling just a little as she stands upright once Chloe’s halted.

“Sorry,” the redhead apologizes sweetly, bringing Beca’s hand up and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.

Beca stills for a moment, processing.

Chloe doesn’t let go of her hand as she continues to admire the flowers.

Beca doesn’t say anything about it.

Instead, she wonders how she and Chloe have reached this point, where holding hands in the street and little kisses are a common occurrence. She wonders how Chloe has become her favorite good morning and good night, how they’ve become _those_ people who send each other pictures of things and say “I thought of you.” She wonders how Chloe can order her a meal at any given restaurant and get it spot on, and how Beca knows exactly which teas to buy when she’s at the store on a grocery run.

And she knows there’s always been something there, and she knows what that _something_ is, but she’s sitting on almost two years post-realization with nothing to show for it.

Her and Chloe’s friendship has always been so _easy_ ; Beca’s more than afraid to complicate it by bringing up stupid things like feelings.

In all honesty, she’d rather have Chloe as a friend than nothing at all. Plus, neither of them have really dated anyone in a few years, it’s fine.

She’s brought back to her surroundings when Chloe stops and takes longer than usual. They’re a light purple with delicate petals. Beca squints in attempts to read the label put out for them, but they’re in a language she definitely doesn’t understand so she gives up.

Chloe is still fascinated with them almost two minutes later, so Beca slowly pulls her hand out of Chloe’s, reaching into the pocket of her leather jacket and pulling out a couple of Euros. She hands it over to the florist by the counter and he grins knowingly, like he knows something she doesn’t. Beca offers a short smile in return before pulling one out of the pot.

“Hey Beale,” she says, calling Chloe’s attention.

Chloe turns to find Beca standing there with one of the flowers she’d just been admiring in Beca’s hand, extended out to her.

Chloe quirks an eyebrow. “Did you buy me a flower?”

Beca smiles shyly, shifting her weight from one foot to another. “It’s pretty and you wouldn’t stop staring at them.”

Chloe’s features soften in that moment, taking the flower from Beca and looking at it in her own hands before looking back up at her best friend.

“Becs you didn’t have to,” she says, still surprised.

Beca shrugs. “It was only a few Euros,” she reasons. “And I know how much you like flowers or whatever.”

(Except roses. Beca knows Chloe thinks roses are cliche and overdone.)

Chloe grins, immediately wrapping Beca up in a tight hug. Beca lets herself fall into all too easily, all but melting in Chloe’s arms. She smells strawberries and vanilla and knows that this scent right is here is like coming home.

She feels Chloe press a kiss to her temple and tries not to think too much about it.

“I don’t need to date anyone,” Chloe tells her with a grin when she pulls away. “I’ve got you.”

Beca rolls her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.”

But Chloe laughs and it’s still the best sound Beca’s ever heard.

She’s unemployed and should be worried about other things, but Chloe is laughing with a flower in her hand and the sun shining behind her looking beautiful as ever, and Beca knows she’s in love.

  


* * *

 

Los Angeles is different from New York and Atlanta and Portland.

Beca oddly thrives in Los Angeles, and she definitely likes it more than she ever liked New York. She lives alone though, and that’s taken some getting used to. Living alone is hard enough as it is, but living alone after living with Chloe Beale for the better part of seven years makes being on your own really hard.

No one cooks her breakfast. There’s no smell of tea in the afternoon or endless supply of wine in the kitchen. She doesn’t wake up to soft singing nor does she fall asleep in the arms of someone who is the most adamant cuddler Beca thinks has ever existed.

So yeah, living on her own is difficult, but busy so busy working on her new music with DJ Khaled and Theo keeps her so busy Beca sometimes forgets how much time has passed. If she’s being honest, most of her free time is either spent sleeping or holding up her phone, FaceTiming Chloe.

Chloe’s a mere six hours away attending vet school at UC Davis, and really, the distance could be worse, but it’s just so _hard_ not being with Chloe all the time. So most of her time is spent texting or calling or sending silly snapchats to her best friend. After even the longest days at the studio, Beca drives home in ridiculous LA traffic with her phone propped up against the dashboard, eyes flitting to watch the way Chloe animatedly talks about her latest adventures in vet school.

Los Angeles is lonely at times when Beca realizes she’s got a handful of friends she’s made at the studio and one of them is Theo, but Chloe is always there even when she’s not physically around. Chloe’s her first good morning and last good night. She’s the first person Beca calls when she finishes a track or when Theo has good news. She’s the one who still knows Beca best after all this time.

There are the occasional girls and guys who are interested in Beca, but she doesn’t care about them at all.

None of them compare to Chloe Beale.

And Beca doesn’t really know what they’re doing because they’re still the same Beca and Chloe they’ve always been, but there’s something there that she can’t quite put a finger on. It’s not like Chloe’s seeing anyone else - the last Beca’s known is the fling with Chicago that hardly even lasted after Chloe had returned to New York - and Beca certainly hasn’t been going out with anyone else. But they’re doing this thing where they’re dating, but not really dating, and wait - haven’t they been doing that this whole damn time?

But Beca doesn’t question it, because once again she doesn’t want to freak Chloe out or have misread the entire situation and have Chloe be apologetic and be all sympathetic because Chloe would never hate her for this, only try to turn her down in the sweetest way possible because she’s Chloe freakin’ Beale and that’s just who she is.

So she stays quiet and lets her feelings eat her up, especially when she’s lonely in a big city with no one to hold her as she sleeps.

Her birthday is approaching, and Aubrey, Stacie, Emily, and Chloe are all supposed to come down for a few days to celebrate and drink mimosas at some swanky Los Angeles restaurant and just have a good time.

Except Chloe suddenly has a test she needs to study for and she’s giving Beca the saddest eyes and she sounds so distraught that Beca tells her not to worry and they can celebrate another weekend.

And then Aubrey and Stacie call and apologize profusely because Bella is sick and there’s no way Stacie will leave her sick daughter alone and Aubrey won’t leave her girlfriend to take care of the child by herself.

And to top it all off, Emily’s mother has surprised her at grad school for a mother-daughter bonding week. Emily tries to see if she can get out of it, but Beca tells her it’s fine. She knows Mrs. Junk well enough to know just how excited the woman is to see her daughter and spend time with her.

And Beca understands - she really does, but she really misses all her friends more than she’d care to admit.

She finds herself alone in her apartment just before midnight of her birthday. She’s turning 26 and is in one of Chloe’s old Barden long sleeves that Beca definitely stole at some point and pajama pants. She has Netflix on her TV in her living room and wonders if this is what being a real adult with no roommates is like.

There’s a knock on her door and Beca almost jumps out of her skin. She definitely isn’t expecting any guests at this hour. Really, she was expecting to sulk and maybe eat a some ice cream as she spent her 26th birthday alone without her friends. She’s frozen on the couch for a moment, wondering if her visitor will just go away if she doesn’t answer.

Except there’s a knock again, this time a little more aggressive.

Beca scowls, throwing her blanket off of her body as she climbs off the couch.

“I swear to god if it’s Theo…” she mutters, hitting pause on her Netflix show and making her way to the door.

She fully expects her favorite turtle-looking guy to be on the other side of the door when she opens it. There’s already a snappy remark on the tip of her tongue, but when she swings the door open, there’s no British music producer on the other side.

Instead it’s a redhead with bright blue eyes and a duffel bag over her shoulder.

“What-” Beca tries to get out, but she’s quickly cut off.

“Happy birthday,” Chloe says, voice tired but still full of genuine emotion.

Beca feels her eyes begin to water because Chloe Beale is standing at her door on the night of her 26th birthday when Beca was convinced she’d have to spend her birthday alone. She flings her arms around the redhead, forcing her to drop the duffle to the ground. Beca clings onto Chloe tightly, feeling the way Chloe’s arms wrap around her waist like they’re a perfect fit. She inhales strawberries and vanilla and knows turning 26 feels like home.

They stay like that for what seems like hours in Beca’s entryway, with Chloe’s cheek pressed against Beca’s temple and Beca’s face digging into Chloe’s neck.

“How is this possible?” Beca asks into Chloe’s skin, and she notices the way her voice is somehow impossibly delicate.

Chloe laughs, lifting her head to look at her. “I’m still full of surprises,” she tells her with watery eyes and a signature Chloe Beale wink. “You haven’t seen it all just yet, Beca Mitchell.”

Beca can hear her phone chiming, knowing very well her phone is probably blowing up with various Happy Birthday texts from the Bellas and other friends. She hardly even cares though, because the person she cares about the most is here, in her apartment, holding her like nothing else in the world matters.

“You’re unbelievable,” she tells Chloe.

“Did you really think I’d let you spend your birthday alone?”

She doesn’t understand how Chloe has stuck by her side after all this time. She’s seen the best and worst of Beca, seen her grown up and be and adult and go after what she wants. Chloe has been there for the good, the bad, and the ugly, and she’s stuck it out no matter what. Chloe is her favorite good morning, her last good night, and every thought in between. And distance is hard when you’re in love, but right now she’s got the whole world in her hands.

Beca knows she’s in love and has been for a long time now.

She’s not stupid.

“I love you,” she confesses quietly.

And it’s not the first time they’ve said it to each other before - not by a long shot - but Chloe always _gets_ Beca in ways no one else does. She knows this time is different?

“What?” she asks with a quirk of her eyebrows, pulling away to get a better look at her best friend.

This is not how Beca thought she’d tell Chloe she loves her, in pajamas and Netflix paused on her TV, but she knows she can’t turn back now.

(She realizes she doesn’t really want to, anyway.)

“I love you,” she repeats a little louder, steadying herself by holding onto Chloe’s arms. “I think I always have, even back when I was some dumb freshman who didn’t deserve you at all.”

Beca laughs at the thought of it now before she continues, “Even now I’m not all too sure I deserve you. A lot of people in my life have left me, and because of that I’ve had trouble opening up and letting people into my life. But not when it came to you. Everything has always been different with you, Beale. And it took me a really long time, but I finally figured out why.”

Chloe’s eyes are filling up with tears and her mouth is slightly opened as she listens to Beca speak, clinging on to every word she’s saying. Beca knows Chloe is probably exhausted from her drive, but she still gives Beca every ounce of attention she has and Beca’s stomach grows warm and she’s encouraged to keep going.

“It’s always been you, Chlo. I’ve always loved you. I’m turning 26 and all I want is standing here in front of me.”

Chloe makes a noise that sounds like a sob and Beca thinks she might’ve messed up something terrible, but before she speaks Chloe’s pulling her closer and letting their lips match like puzzle pieces.

Beca doesn’t know how long she’s been waiting for this, but it’s better than her wildest dreams. Chloe tastes like the fruity bubblegum Beca knows she was probably chewing during her drive and her lips are slightly chapped, but it’s passionate and loving and everything Beca knows and loves about Chloe Beale.

She’s brought back to _how high does your belt go?_ and national championships and that tiny apartment and wine nights and Europe. She’s brought back to movie nights and bedtime cuddles and all the other Bellas’ stupid jokes. She feels Chloe smile against her lips and she can’t help but smile too before Chloe kisses it right off of her lips.

Chloe’s the first to pull away, slow and leaving Beca wanting more. When the smaller one opens her eyes, she sees pretty blue ones looking at her so intently.

“Please say something,” Beca begs after a few moments of silence.

“Thanks for coming back all those years ago.”

Beca feels her heart soar. “Thanks for giving me a chance.”

Chloe’s duffle bag is forgotten in the entryway and Netflix is a distant memory as Beca tugs the redhead towards her bedroom, giggling as Chloe pulls her down onto the mattress, immediately cupping her face and giving her slow and careful kisses.

“Happy birthday,” Chloe murmurs against her lips. “I love you.”

Chloe makes sure to show her very deliberately.

Beca knows these feelings. She’s pretty sure it’s okay to feel this way about her best friend.


End file.
